Working on the Dragon 1/350 Ticonderoga cruiser. I need some close up photos of the ship’s boat on the port side. Looks like the CG’s that got modernized were upgraded with RHIB’s, but I’m modeling her in her early days, and this is a different type boat. So, anyone have any info on USN ship’s boats, esp. re: these cruisers? Coming up dry on Google.
Thanks!
Chris
I imagine that there are a few standard types fleetwide for the USN. Some terms that I have heard are :whaleboat, launch, skiff, gig, Admiral’s Barge. I am sure one of our sailor vets on here has to know more.
behold, the USN Mk.8 26’ Whaleboat
and this link to a manual lists many more types
http://www.hnsa.org/resources/manuals-documents/single-topic/boats-of-the-united-states-navy/
yup, there are standard types. Before the RHIBs came around, the standard types were
26’ motor whaleboat MWB (as the picture above, pointed on both ends, sometimes with a fibreglass canopy)
26’ personnel boat (enclosed top)
for larger ships: 33’ Utility Boat UB(open, square stern)
much larger ships: 33’ Personnel boat
These are all described in the link provided by Mr Stik, above.
A smaller ship would probably have a single 26’ MWB. A less-small ship would also have a 26’ Personnel boat, which would serve as the Captain’s gig. You can tell the gig because it has a red stripe at the waterline, and the name at the bow has an arrow through it.
If a ship has another personnel boat, it would not have a red waterline stripe, but a blue one instead. On Jouett, our second 26’ Pers boat was called the Officers’ Motor Boat, but I never saw it used specifically as such.
Jouett also had a 33’ UB, open with formers to mount a canvas top.
Flagships will have a boat designated as the Admiral’s barge, usually a 33’ Personnel boat with sides painted black, and green below the waterline. Before the small boats were purged, a CV would have a bunch of 33’ boats in the hangar, both open UB and closed personnel boats, with one belonging to the admiral.
For Ticonderoga, we should guess that there is a 26’ personnel boat on the stbd side, marked as the Gig.
I hate RHIBs.
You guys have missed a whole world of other US Navy boats. Those are the amphibs say prior to 1970. Lets take an APA for instance. There were 24 to 26 boats aboard. (2) LCMs, (3) LCPLs, and (19) to (21) LCVPs. When not used for amphibious landings all boats were available for ship’s use. The LCMs were used as large liberty boats with the LCVPs filling in as needed. The LCPLs were interesting. I don’t have the numbers in front of me but the early ones had the same hull as an LCVP but instead of the bow door had a “hog nose”. One was used as the officers motor boat and could also be used as a control boat during landings. The second was the captain’s gig and had a teak deck and fancy chrome fittings. It was kept for his personal use but sometimes used for other purposes with his permission. The third LCPL as something special. The variation in use was termed a “Mark 4” and had an all steel hull and a special souped up engine. Reportedly the hull lines were borrowed from Maine lobster boats. The Mark 4 had a special cradle and could not be stowed in the ones used for the other LCPLs and the LCVPs. It was assigned to the boat group commander although also used for other purposes like water skiing. Many Mark 4s were grabbed by squadron commanders as their gig or barge.
From USS ESSEX CVS-9, 1961 from my photos;
The liberty boat
The Captain’s gig and the Admirals barge. These were beautiful boats.
EJ
Well ;
Pretty succinct list you’ve been given .On the OLD Fram ships of the sixties /Gearings and Forrest Shermans the 26" MWB was mounted port and starboard .The Captain got the one with the Fibre-Glass or canvas cover .
E.J.;
Yes they were . But any of them could be when attended to like these were .Their crews were cleaning , polishing ,wiping and rubbing for a good part of their day . Plus they were especially careful to " Fend Off " when close to a landing stage or another ship . The boat’s engines Never got worked on while in the water either ! Unless they absolutely had to .Those Boatswains Mates in charge of those things were a fussy lot , they were !
Ok, yup, this nails it down. This kit has both a MWB and a captain’s gig. The instructions call for the red stripe at the waterline, with black below that. Mostly I just wanted to make sure this info was accurate. Looks like it is.
Thanks, guys!
edit: did a search for captain’s gig, found this. This is the boat:
gig2 by theirishavenger, on Flickr
Amphib, I’m sorry to have excluded gators and their boats, but the original poster asked about CG-47, pre-RHIB, so my reply was focused on CruDes types of the 1980s.
Rick
I want to remember the CGNs (Texas, California, Truxton, & Virginia) had a pair of 33s (2 UB & 1 PB) [Truxton & Virginia may have had 40’ UB in place of the 33 UB] If memory serves they nested 26 MWB in the 33s; and they had a Gig & Barge as well in their own gravity davits.
When the Tico’s came out as an enlarged Spru-can, I’m wanting to remember that they were one of the first to be fitted with RHIBs But I could be wrong–that was my “in-between” time.